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HC Salavat Yulaev coach Erkka Westerlund: "Ufa is great hockey city, it should get maximum"

On July 10, the Ufa Salavat Yulaev held an open training session for the media on the ice of the Ufa-Arena. It became the first after medical examination, which was organized for the team at the end of last week. HC Salavat Yulaev divided into blue and green, for about an hour worked out various exercises under the guidance of Finnish mentors. The head coach Erkka Westerlund supervised the process, continually, joining one group or another. The coach Nikolay Tsulygin successfully coped with the role of a translator.

There were no Philippe Larsen and Teemu Hartikainen among the training players, they will join the team soon. The Swedish star, Linus Umark, was also absent.

After the session, Westerlund commented on the start of trainings of his team and answered other questions.

"Why did the team leave the vacations so late?"

"We have enough time for training. The guys had a task for the summer, they trained, everyone is in good condition. There is still enough time before the start of the championship. "

"What are the expectations of the season, tasks set to the team?"

"We concentrate on what we are doing now. The result will come, because it is a product of training".

"What minimum result will be considered as satisfactory? "

"Ufa is one of the largest hockey centres in Russia. It is a great hockey city, and it should get the maximum result. We consider reaching playoffs as the initial stage."

"You do not interfere much in the coaching process on the ice, don’t you? How would you evaluate the work of your coaching staff? "

"I have an excellent assistant in my coaching work — Kolya (Nikolai Tsulygin). We have a very good team of coaches and everyone knows who is responsible for. Tom and Hannu are mostly engaged on the ice, and I'm the leader of this team, my task is to unite everyone."